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Parkinson's Disease

Bed sheets too heavy & causing discomfort?

My 80 y/o mother who is in them middle of reducing her meds finds that the bed blankets are too heavy. (Mind you she is just that weak). It causes her to struggle to reposition them for comfort. When she does reposition them, they often get all twisted (similar to the tangle she gets in when putting on a sweater and putting one arm through the head area). I suggested we adjust the room temperature accordingly and she try sleeping without any sheet or blanket but she does not feel "protected" then.

My 80 y/o mother who is in them middle of reducing her meds finds that the bed blankets are too heavy. (Mind you she is just that weak). It causes her to struggle to reposition them for comfort. When she does reposition them, they often get all twisted (similar to the tangle she gets in when putting on a sweater and putting one arm through the head area). I suggested we adjust the room temperature accordingly and she try sleeping without any sheet or blanket but she does not feel "protected" then.

I'm at a loss. Any ideas?

My suggestion would be a very lightweight down or down alternative comforter often referred to as "tropical weight". I would skedaddle over to The Company Store for their clearance on the "St. Tropez" collection. I have bought both down and down alternative comforters from them for nearly 20 years.

I, in fact, am going to stock up myself and buy a few gifts as it looks like they are fazing this collection out.

Anyway, this is ideal in many ways for us with PD. Due to the loft, it is super lightweight * lighter than a sheet* . Not bulky or heavy. Works with your body temp. I get hot spells in the night but my robe or outer bed jacket comes off not the comforter - I never have to kick that off me. Since it is pouffy, it tends not to roll or bunch and I have never had it wrap around me.

Best part is it super nice just to have something so versatile. I use it year round even in the summer.

If you do order from them, I would suggest ordering down one bed size as these are oversize in general. Mine ends up trailing on the floor and drives me buggy, and that could be foot tangling or trip waiting to happen.

If you don't go with above site, just Google "summer weight down comforter" but honestly this is a great deal. Quality is assured and normally prices start at $100.

Hope this helps!

Laura

P.S. I feel your mom; I have been there before. Hang in there - it will get better.

I echo what Laura said although we got a silk duvet insert that is 100% silk...it is not cheap, but feels like a butterfly on you and is incredibly lightweight, yet warm enough when you need it. Silk is naturally anti-everything, so allergies are reduced if you have them. We don't put the insert in anything, we just use it directly as the cover and wash delicately as needed.

I have found that no matter what you use to cover, though, it gets stuck under you, twisted, etc. You might want to consider getting your mom silk jammies so that she doesn't even need a cover, depending on where you live, of course.

We pair the butterfly cover with "fat bastard", a particularly thick pillow we use for body support. It makes me laugh to think that we named our bedding in general, and that one part is lightweight and beaucolic in name while the other is heavy and profane! I'll take the laughs wherever I can get them these days

Last edited by lurkingforacure; 11-09-2012 at 09:32 AM.
Reason: incomplete

Might help with warmth to place a heated blanket on top of the mattress with fitted sheet over it for her to sleep upon. I think there are heated mattress covers available, also. If reluctant to use electric blanket, perhaps a sheepskin or other warming covering? I recall "bed cradles" used for individuals with burns. Placing it over her bed, and covering it with impenetrable blankets/covering might help. Found several web sites for "bed cradle". best of luck. madelyn

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Dad was having troubles turning over and out of bed due to blanket weight & getting tangled in them.

We tried satin sheets, the micro fiber sheets are slippery too so less entanglements, satin jammies..
seems to have helped for him.

I tried a microfiber comforter that I really like, thin and lightweight but nicely warm too.

If she gets chilly in bed another option is a memory foam topper, they are nice for comfort & holds your body heat in.
But if she has trouble turing over & getting in /out of bed it might not work well for her as you do sink into it a little.

We have a topper on our waterbed and don't even need to turn the heat on unless really cold weather hits.

There are clips or elastic bands that you can get to keep sheets/blankets in place better, that might help with some of the tanglement problems.

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To make a duvet even lighter, don't put a cover on it. It's amazing how much two layers of fabric can weight. We put the cover over the bed during the day to look better and keep the dust out, but at night I just use the duvet itself. We got ours from LLBean.

You might see if very lightweight sheets help her comfort. You mentioned that adjusting the room temperature left her feeling unprotected, and it reminded me of when I lived in Palm Springs. The temperature was over 100 degrees even at night - so sleeping with any sort of blanket was out of the question. I absolutely could not sleep without anything to cover me though. I used a thin sheet, and it took some getting used to, but it did end up working well for me after about a week. I didn't even need it to cover my entire body to make me feel comforted - I just needed it across my shoulders mainly (I think these preferences would vary greatly depending on the person). You might try using a heated blanket beneath her (I've seen some that are designed to be placed underneath the body, and only get very moderately warm, so there's no chance of burning) to keep her warm, and see if a think sheet is enough to help her feel protected.

The material on this site is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatmentprovided by a qualified health care provider. Always consult your doctor before trying anything you read here.